The Choice has invited Marie Bigham, a former college admissions officer and veteran college counselor, and
Mark Kantrowitz, a financial-aid expert, to answer your questions about comparing financial aid offers and deciding where to enroll in the blog’s virtual Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.

The moderated Q. and A. session, which began on Monday, concludes with this post.

In this fifth and final installment of answers, the panelists respond to questions about replacing need-based aid with merit aid, the benefits of the International Baccalaureate program, how to calculate your expected family contribution, and options for undecided students.

Some questions, and answers, below have been edited, including for length and style. — Tanya Abrams

Replacing Need-Based Aid With Merit Aid

Q.

My daughter has just accepted an offer of admission to a college that gave her a large, no-loan, financial aid package including both merit-based and need-based aid. She is also a National Merit finalist, and the college is a sponsor of the National Merit Scholarship. We learned through a call to the financial aid office that they will give her the National Merit Scholarship, but at the same time will reduce her need-based aid by the same amount. Her total award would be no different, therefore, with or without the National Merit Scholarship. I feel that this is reasonable; she however, sees it differently. Can you help us make sense of this? Is it common practice, and is it fair?

The Choice has invited Marie Bigham, a former college admissions officer and veteran college counselor, and
Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert, to answer your questions about comparing financial aid offers and deciding where to enroll in the blog’s virtual Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.

The moderated Q. and A. session, which began Monday, will continue throughout the week.

In this fourth installment of answers, the panelists respond to questions about comparing specific schools, whether parents should forbid their children to choose an expensive college, and work-study options.

Some questions and answers have been edited, including for length and style. — Tanya Abrams

N.Y.U., Northeastern or Rutgers?

Q.

What is best for a chemical engineering major? Going to New York University and taking out $80,000 to $90,000 in loans for a five-year program with bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biomedical engineering? Going to Northeastern and taking out $25,000 to $30,000 in loans for a chemical engineering honors, five-year co-op program? Or going to Rutgers, no loans, for its chemical engineering honors program with a minor or extracurricular program in television and film? Please advise.

The Choice has invited Marie Bigham, a former college admissions officer and veteran college counselor, and
Mark Kantrowitz, a financial-aid expert, to answer your questions about comparing financial aid offers and deciding where to enroll in the blog’s virtual Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.

The moderated Q. and A. session, which began Monday, will continue throughout the week.

In this third installment of answers, the panelists respond to questions about the importance of college rankings, choosing a college near a boyfriend and calculating a family’s expected contribution.

Some questions, and answers, below have been edited, including for length and style. — Tanya Abrams

How much should prestige factor into the decision-making process? I’ve been accepted to two top 10 graduate programs in my field. One is in the Ivy League and will likely leave me with a tab of around $120,000 to $130,000 of debt. The other is a reputable school in Washington that would leave me with roughly half that debt. The more expensive school is ranked higher. It’s also in New York, which brings a higher cost of living. Is the name brand and a few more spots up in ranking worth twice the cost?

The Choice has invited Marie Bigham, a former college admissions officer and veteran college counselor, and
Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert, to answer your questions about comparing financial aid offers and deciding where to enroll in the blog’s virtual Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.

The moderated Q. and A. session, which began Monday, will continue throughout the week.

In this second installment of answers, the panelists respond to questions about choosing between a private university and a more affordable state school, and the value of universities that are not in the Ivy League.

Some questions and answers have been edited for length and style. — Tanya Abrams

Private University vs. State Institution

Q.

My son’s top choice happens to be the most expensive (private) school. Even though it has the best offer of aid, the out-of-pocket cost would still be $40,000 to $45,000 a year. As a middle-class mother (not rich, not poor), how do we compare that with a state school where the overall cost would be $25,000 a year? I think the experience, education and connections would be superior at the expensive private school, and my son would be more likely to graduate in four years. But is it worth $80,000 more over four years?

— CA mom

Q.

I got into New York University, but even with a Pell Grant and scholarships, I would still have to pay around $36,000 a year. Most likely, I would have to take out loans. I could take a gamble and enter N.Y.U. and search for scholarships, or I could attend a University of California school back home that costs excessively less. I got into the nursing school at N.Y.U. My only problem is that at the University of California at Santa Barbara, there are no nursing courses. However, at N.Y.U., I could go directly into its five-year program. I also don’t want to be in so much debt.

The Choice has invited Marie Bigham, a former college admissions officer and veteran college counselor, and
Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert, to answer your questions about comparing financial aid offers and deciding where to enroll in the blog’s virtual Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.

The moderated Q. and A. session, which begins Monday, will continue throughout the week.

In this first installment of answers, the panelists respond to questions about choosing a college based on its prestige, choosing an undergraduate program based on graduate school goals, and reporting financial hardships.

Some questions, and answers, below have been edited, including for length and style. — Tanya Abrams

Higher Grades vs. More Prestige

Q.

My son’s focus has changed since he applied to schools. He was rejected by three (one with an invitation to apply as a transfer next year), accepted by three, and is awaiting one rolling admission decision. He now wants to apply to transfer to five schools that were not even on his radar last fall.

In your opinion should he go to a smaller, less prestigious school where he can presumably get higher grades and get to know professors well for recommendations, or go to a larger, more prestigious school?

Now that colleges have decided to accept, deny or defer your college application, it is up to you to decide what your academic future will bring. Most colleges and universities require an enrollment deposit by May 1.

Perhaps you have been accepted to more than one college, and you are trying to compare the schools and make sense of their financial aid packages. Perhaps you have questions about being on the wait list, or you are strongly considering taking a gap year.

To help you make the big decision, I have invited Marie Bigham, a former college admissions officer and veteran college counselor, and
Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert, to stop by our virtual Guidance Office and answer select reader questions about comparing financial aid offers and deciding where to enroll.

If you have decision-time questions about academic match or financial fit — or some combination of the two — please post them in the comments box below.

The panelists have agreed to accept questions through April 10. Their first answers are scheduled to appear on Monday.

As the end of March wraps up the suspense of college acceptances and rejections, the beginning of April tips the decision-making power to students, who must now choose where to enroll. Most students, after having received their (virtual) envelopes, have until May 1 to decide.

The answer for many seniors may be heavily influenced by finances, among other factors. To help students narrow their choices, we’ve invited a few financial aid and admissions experts to join The Choice blog this week to answer some decision-related questions.
Mark Kantrowitz, a financial-aid expert, and Marie Bigham, a veteran college counselor, will join The Choice on Thursday — and will remain until April 12 — to answer your questions about comparing financial aid offers and deciding where to enroll.

Before comparisons can be made, however, it helps to understand what’s in the envelope. This post focuses on the financial aid award letter, which many students receive around the same time as their acceptance notices.

We’ve asked Brian Lindeman, the director of financial aid at Macalester College in St. Paul, to answer some questions about financial aid letters. An edited version of the Q. and A. is below.Read more…

The Choice has invited Laura Perna, an author, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and researcher in college finance and affordability, to answer your questions about paying for college in the blog’s Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.

The moderated Q. and A. session, which began on Monday, will continue throughout the week.

In this final installment of answers, Ms. Perna responds to questions about understanding financial aid award letters, eligibility for in-state tuition, scholarships for students with undeclared majors, and the benefits (and consequences) of enrolling part time in a pay-as-you-go approach to college.

Some questions, and answers, below have been edited, including for length and style. — Tanya Abrams

Understanding Financial Aid Award Letters

Q.

With financial aid decisions coming in, what should be the main factors one should consider when choosing a school based on financial aid packages, especially those that meet the applicant’s full financial need?

The Choice has invited Laura Perna, an author, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and researcher in college finance and affordability, to answer your questions about paying for college in the blog’s Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.

The moderated Q. and A. session, which began on Monday, will continue throughout the week.

In this fourth installment of answers, Ms. Perna responds to questions about college savings plans, loan forgiveness programs, financial aid options for early admissions, and how graduation rates affect college costs.

Some questions, and answers, below have been edited, including for length and style. — Tanya Abrams

College Savings Plans

Q.

I’ve heard advice that parents shouldn’t have savings accounts for college expenses. When considering financial aid, colleges will look first at those accounts to calculate parental contributions. (One friend of mine called it a “confiscatory policy.”) Instead, the thinking goes, parents should put money into assets, such as a home, let kids take student loans, and help them pay off the loans after graduation.

I’ve got college savings accounts (529s) for my two daughters, who are in 10th and 8th grades. The accounts aren’t large, but we’ve done our best to save. However, I feel I might be setting us up to pay too much. What do you think?

The Choice has invited Laura Perna, an author, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and researcher in college finance and affordability, to answer your questions about paying for college in the blog’s Guidance Office, a forum for college applicants and their families seeking expert advice.

The moderated Q. and A. session, which began on Monday, will continue throughout the week.

In this third installment of answers, Ms. Perna responds to questions about appealing a financial aid award, starting at a community college to save money, the actual average of student debt, and whether college is really worth its cost.

Some questions, and answers, below have been edited, including for length and style. — Tanya Abrams

Appealing a Financial Aid Award

Q.

My daughter will be attending college next year. Her older brother has left school due to poor grades. We took out a parent loan for him so we cannot afford to do anything for our daughter. We never could save much for either child’s college fund as we have always just scraped by. Can we call the financial aid office at the school she would like to attend and request that they review her aid request in light of this? There is nowhere on the form to include information like this.